Lose Fat Gain Muscle

I was going through some old papers today and I ran across this advanced giant set for abs. I printed it out from some website back in the 90’s (not sure if the before-mentioned website even exists anymore).

Here it is:

Hanging leg raises–15 reps, 2 second intervals

Hanging bent-knee raises–5 reps, 1 second intervals

Lying 6″ leg raises–30 reps, 1 second intervals

Rest for 15 seconds, then

Lying 6″ leg raises–20 reps, 1 second intervals

Reverse crunches–20 reps, 1 second intervals

1/4 twisting sit-ups–35 reps, 2 second intervals

Rest for 10 seconds, then

1/4 sit-ups–35 reps, 2 second intervals

Crunches–20 reps, 0.5 second intervals

Unless specified, no rest between sets. Make sure to breath out during the contracting phase of the motion.

What I like about this is you progress from difficult to easier movements as your abs get fatigued.

I first remember seeing the Farmer’s Walk while watching the World’s Strongest Man contest. It’s a test of overall body strength as well as endurance.

Today I tried it for the first time. I really like the idea of doing exercises like this as “finishers”–movements to burn extra calories and work on conditioning after you’ve lifted weights.

My gym doesn’t really have any special bars or equipment for this, so I just grabbed some heavy dumbbells. It worked pretty well but it would have been difficult to do in a gym that is small and/or crowded.

I really like the way this exercises taxes your whole body. You can also step in such a way that you’ll add some calf training (tiptoe at the end of each step). I’m going to try it again next week now that I’m starting to get the hang of it.

Two More Tips:

1. Grip tends to give out before anything else, so you may want to use lifting straps at some point.

2. One-handed farmer’s walk will give your core a great workout (because your core muscles will have to keep you upright during the movement).